Zenya Hernandez, left, sits with her daughter Abigail as Nathaniel Kibby, 34, of Gorham, N.H. stands during his arraignment at Conway District Court in Conway, N.H., Tuesday, July 29, 2014. Kibby was charged with kidnapping Abigail Hernandez nine months ago was ordered held on $1 million bail after a brief court appearance Tuesday.

Nathaniel Kibby Held on $1M Bail in Abigail Hernandez Kidnap

By Tracy Connor

Kidnapped teen Abigail Hernandez trained a stare on her accused captor on Tuesday as he was held on $1 million bail at an arraignment even though prosecutors provided no details of the crime.

Nathaniel Kibby, 34, did not enter a plea and did not object to the high bail, which will keep him behind bars until an Aug. 12 probable cause hearing.

Abigail, 15, sat calmly with family members during the brief hearing, feet away from Kibby, who was wearing an orange jail jumpsuit and had his hands shackled.

Kibby, who has a lengthy criminal history and was arrested on assault and trespassing charges in March, is charged with one felony count of kidnapping. Affidavits outlining the case against him were sealed, to the dismay of his public defender, Jesse Friedman.

"Mr. Kibby is entitled constitutionally to this information," Friedman said.

The associate attorney general, Jane Young, said the papers should remain under seal because the investigation is in its early stages.

"There are searches being conducted at the defendant's house," she said.

Abigail vanished Oct. 9 while walking home from Kennett High School in Conway, New Hampshire, and returned a week ago under mysterious circumstances.

Little information about Abigail's kidnapping, captivity or release has emerged, but NBC-owned station NECN quoted sources as saying she was locked up in a container on Kibby's trailer-park lot in Gorham.

Outside the courthouse, officials divulged little more about the case, declining to answer questions about whether Abigail knew Kibby, where she was kept and how she ended up back home.

"Her courage, her resolve to return home and the she did, I think, speaks for itself," FBI Agent Kieran Ramsey said.

Young said there was no indication that anyone else was involved in the abduction. She said Kibby could be charged with other crimes, depending on what evidence the searches yield.

"Sometimes, our worst fears were realized," she said of the nine-month probe. "But this child is home, she is relatively safe."

She said the community should be grateful that Abigail is alive.

"I cannot tell you how a child like that can get through the nine months and endure," she said.

Court records show Kibby has an arrest record that dates back to 1998 and includes charges of assault, trespassing, stolen property, theft, marijuana possession and traffic infractions.

He pleaded guilty last year to a pot charge and paid a fine. Earlier this month, he paid a $1,000 fine to settled charges of assault and trespassing stemming from an incident in March.

Someone with the same name also wrote several letters to the Conway Daily Sun over the years, expressing his views on politics, religion and gun-control.

A neighbor of Kibby said he moved into the mobile-home park in Gorham about five years ago and kept to himself as he walked through the neighborhood with his Doberman.

"He just gave you weird vibes," said another neighbor, Kayla Delisle. "You stayed away from him as much as you could."

A former high school classmate, Tim Wiggin, said that when he knew him in high school, Kibby was an oddball who wore dark trench coats, talked about how he was a vampire and formed a small club called The Vipers.

"He was a real loner," Wiggin said.

First published July 29 2014, 7:53 AM

Tracy Connor

Tracy Connor is a senior writer for NBC News. She started this role in December, 2012. Connor is responsible for reporting and writing breaking news, features and enterprise stories for NBCNews.com. Connor joined NBC News from the New York Daily News, where she was a senior writer covering a broad range of news and supervising the health and immigration beats. Prior to that she was an assistant city editor who oversaw breaking news and the courts and entertainment beats.

Earlier, Connor was a staff writer at the New York Post, United Press International and Brooklyn Paper Publications.

Connor has won numerous awards from journalism organizations including the Deadline Club and the New York Press Club.